In late 2023, Union Pacific Railroad identified a growing demand for intermodal rail service in the Southwest region. Within 45 days after announcing a plan to meet that demand, the new Phoenix Intermodal Terminal opened for business.
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The quick turnaround in Phoenix underscores Union Pacific’s commitment to responding quickly and decisively to meeting our customers’ current and anticipated needs and growing our intermodal footprint.
Over the past 10 years, Union Pacific has invested more than $33 billion in capital improvements in its network, including $3.4 billion in 2024. This includes investments in four new intermodal ramps, five new autonomous wide-span cranes and the development of seven new “focus sites” or industrial parks, providing businesses and warehouses ease of access to Union Pacific’s 32,000-mile rail network.
“Union Pacific knows how important it is to invest back into the railroad – that’s always going to be a priority. It’s a part of our culture, as well as the need to move quickly and efficiently to meet our customers’ needs,” said Kenny Rocker, executive vice president of Marketing and Sales for Union Pacific Railroad.
New Intermodal Ramps
Union Pacific is quickly meeting new market demands by identifying fast-growing areas for investment and developing new intermodal ramps.
In the past four years, the railroad has built new ramps in Phoenix, Arizona; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and the Inland Empire in Southern California. The fourth is currently being built in Kansas City and expected to open in 2025.
With the new ramps and enhancements made at existing ramps, Union Pacific has added nearly one million in incremental lift capacity since 2021.
In all, Union Pacific has 32 terminal ramps in the nation’s most in-demand cities.
Faster, Reliable Service
Union Pacific is meeting our customers’ needs for faster, more reliable service with the development of new premium offerings, including Z train service from Southern California to Chicago, with three-day service.
The railroad is also leveraging its existing assets to provide premium intermodal services to both Canada and Mexico, making it easier and faster to transport goods and products across the border.
Compared to our competitors, Union Pacific has the shortest route between Mexico and Chicago and is the only railroad with access to all six gateways into the growing Mexico markets.
Our premium intermodal services, which operate daily, can move goods between Canada and Mexico in seven days:
- Eagle Premium delivers seamless interchange between Mexico, Chicago, the West Coast and eastern U.S. points, including Detroit, Michigan and Louisville, Kentucky..
- Falcon Premium was developed jointly with Canadian National and Grupo Mexico, and services all CN points within Canada and Detroit.
Market Access
Union Pacific offers 20 unmatched franchise lanes that blanket two-thirds of the western U.S. and connect some of the nation’s biggest market hubs: Chicago, Kansas City, Houston, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Salt Lake City, and both Northern and Southern California.
Union Pacific also developed on-dock loading services at Port Houston in 2023, providing our customers’ direct rail access to 11 key metropolitan markets, including Phoenix, Chicago, Salt Lake City and Dallas.
Containers are transferred directly from ships at Port Houston to intermodal well cars, eliminating drayage at the port and a 30-mile truck drive to a rail yard, saving on fuel and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Ease of Access to Rail
Union Pacific is connecting new customers to our network with the development of rail-served industrial hubs that provide customers with targeted rail services.
Focus sites are large-scale development sites suited for custom-built warehouses or industrial facilities, located next to railroad tracks. These sites make it easier to access rail while increasing a customer’s speed to market.
The railroad has more than 30 focus sites across our 32,000-mile network – including five new sites added in 2024.
Leveraging Technology
Over the past few years, Union Pacific has been developing new ways to enhance truck drivers’ experience at our terminals and making it easier for our customers to view and manage invoices.
The railroad installed Precision Gate Technology (PGT) that allows for efficient access to and from our ramps and a rolling-gate experience for drivers, reducing the time it takes to find and drop off containers.
The railroad also released a mobile app for truck drivers that allows for quicker ingate and outgate validations, ramp navigation and problem resolution for drivers.
Finally, this year, Union Pacific rolled out a new invoice management tool, which offers an entirely new and improved interface for our customers to view, search, download and dispute invoices. The Invoice Management tool is a one-stop service for all invoice-related needs, driving better visibility and creating efficiencies for all our customers.
Cargo Security
Over the past two years, Union Pacific has undertaken aggressive steps to safeguard its customers’ cargo, including strengthening its infrastructure and deploying technology to surveil tracks and rail yards.
Since January of 2023, Union Pacific has invested more than $30 million on security projects, installing new fences, camera units and deploying new surveillance tactics.
Ready to Do Business
Investing in intermodal is part of Union Pacific’s long-term strategy for growth, and we are committed to expanding intermodal access across our network. We’re also excited about the opportunities available for customers and ourselves to capitalize upon in coming years.
Union Pacific Railroad is ready to grow with you and your business. Let’s connect.
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